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^7 

V 

^  DIARY 


OF   A   VISIT    TO 


NEWPORT,  NEW  YORK,  AND  PHILADELPHIA 


DURING   THE  SUMMER  OF  1815, 


BY 

TIMOTHY    BIGELOW. 


lEtiitetJ  ^2  St  ©rantison. 


"Scripta  ferunt  annos."  —  Ovid. 


BOSTON: 

PRINTED   FOR   PRIVATE    DISTRIBUTION. 

1880. 


iKYVj 


fi;.V'3         S4-7 


University  Press  : 
John  Wilson  and  Son,  Cambridge. 


Vi 


NOTE. 

OOON  after  editing  in  1876  the  "Journal  of  a 
Tour  to  Niagara  Falls,"  I  found  among  some 
family  papers  this  Diary  by  the  same  author.  I 
am  glad  to  draw  it  from  the  undisturbed  obscurity 
of  sixty  years,  and  to  record  my  sense  of  the  in- 
terest and  value  of  such  writings  by  putting  it  in 
a  form  which  ensures  its  preservation. 

Mr.  Timothy  Williams  (H.  U.  1784),  who  accom- 
panied my  grandfather  on  this  journey  as  well  as 
on  the  former  one,  was  his  contemporary  in  college 
and  afterwards  his  most  intimate  friend.  Such  was 
their  intimacy  that,  it  is  said,  one  was  seldom  seen 
without  the  other.  Mr.  Williams  was  a  well-known 
merchant  of  Boston,  and  a  very  intelligent,  genial, 
and  estimable  man.     He  died  in  1846. 

I  have  altered  the  spelling  in  the  Diary  to  con- 
form to  modern  usage,  and  have  occasionally  in- 
serted a  word  in  brackets.  The  numbers  in  the 
margin  are  copied  from  the  manuscript,  and  give 
the  distance  from  place  to  place. 

A.  L. 
Boston,  March  8,  1880. 


S?i209377 


DIARY, 


/^N  Monday  the  third  day  of  July,  1815,  at 
eight  o'clock,  a.m.,  Messrs.  Williams  and 
Bigelovv  left  Boston  in  the  Providence  stage-coach.  21 
Dined  at  Polly's  in  Wrentham,  —  a  good  house. 
We  had  a  travelling  companion,  a  manufacturer 
belonging  to  Attleboro',  returning  from  Portland, 
who  informed  us  that,  coming  into  Boston  from 
sea  yesterday,  he  saw  Commodore  Bainbridge  and 
his  squadron  under  weigh  [way]  for  the  Mediter- 
ranean, and  that  the  "  Independence  "  sailed  well.* 


*  On  Sunday  last,  the  United  States  squadron,  lately  equipped 
in  this  harbor,  sailed  for  the  Mediterranean,  composed  of  the 
Independence,  74,  Capt.  Crane,  bearing  the  broad  pendant  of  Com. 
Bainbridge;  Erie,  18,  Capt.  Ridgeley;  Chippewa,  16,  L't.-Com. 
Reid ;  and  Lynx,  7,  L't.  Dukehart. 

Commodore  Bainbridge's  squadron  was  seen  24  hours  out, 
having  had  a  fine  run.  The  commodore  communicated  a  note  to 
a  friend,  by  the  pilot,  in  which  he  says  he  was  perfectly  satisfied 
with  the  trim  and  sailing  of  the  Independence.  —  From  the  "  Co- 
lumbian Centinel "  of  July  5th  and  8th,  1815. 


6  DIARY    OF    A 

20  To  Providence.  Chapotin's  (ordinary).  On 
Seekonk  plain,  a  smart  thunder-shower.  Learned 
that  the  lightning  struck  in  Providence,  and  killed 
a  horse,  &c.  Mr.  Scott,  well-informed,  civil,  and 
communicative ;  Mr.  Colman,  brother  of  Chapotin, 
very  attentive.  Providence  is  considerably  enlarged 
since  we  last  saw  [it],  and  improved  in  the  quality 
and  style  of  building.  It  exhibits  many  marks  of 
prosperity. 

30  Tuesday,  July  4th.  To  Newport  by  packet, 
Captain  Gardner  ;  many  passengers.  Captain  Tay- 
lor, late  of  the  United  States  Navy,  was  one.  He 
was  in  the  same  ship  with  Commodore  Perry  at  the 
battle  on  Lake  Erie,  and  was  left  in  the  command 
of  the  ship  when  Perry  left  her.  He  seems  to 
have  been  dismissed  the  service  ;  perhaps  for  being 
federal.  Our  passage  was  uncommonly  pleasant ; 
wind  and  tide  were  favorable,  and  we  were  but 
four  or  five  hours  from  Providence  to  Newport. 
Dined  at  Daws's  (a  servant,  formerly  Mr.  Ly- 
man's, attended  us).  Mr.  Milliken,  of  Frankfort,  a 
Democratic  Representative  in  Massachusetts  Gen- 
eral Court,  was  there.  He  has  a  cargo  of  lumber, 
which  he  is  trying  to  sell. 

The  streets  are  dressed  with  flags  and  other 
decorations ;  the  inhabitants,  wdth  many  people 
from  neighboring  towns,  in  their  best.     Admired 


VISIT   TO    NEWPORT,    ETC.  7 

the  fine  complexion  of  the  females,  but  noticed  a 
particular  Rhode  Island  air  and  manner  in  the 
walk  and  deportment.  All,  male  and  female,  walk 
in  the  middle  of  the  street.  It  is  attended  with 
less  inconvenience  than  might  be  supposed,  for  we 
saw  not  a  single  pair  of  wheels  in  motion  while 
we  were  in  Newport. 

Afternoon  to  South  Kingston.  The  ferry  to  8 
Connonicut,  three  miles ;  across  that  island,  one 
mile  ;  and  the  ferry  thence  to  the  Narragansett 
shore  at  South  Kingston,  three  miles  more ;  and 
to  Gardner's  house  one  mile.  Among  our  fellow- 
passengers  over  the  ferries,  &c.,  were  Governor 
Brown  and  an  old  slave  ship-master,  eighty-two 
years  old ;  has  become  very  poor,  but  says  he 
should  be  glad  now  to  go  a  voyage  to  Africa  for 
slaves ! 

Wednesday,  July  5th.  Hired  our  host  Gardner 
to  carry  us  in  his  coach  to  New  London.  To  15 
General  Stanton's  in  Charlestown  to  breakfast  (pass- 
ing the  Pettaquamscot,  Saucatucket,  Taugwunk 
Hill,  &c.,  &c.).  To  Perkins's,  in  Groton,  to  dine,  22 
—  a  miserable  house.  The  only  agreeable  thing 
we  met  with  was  civil  manners.  In  this  stage,  we 
passed  the  farm  which  Mr.  Babcock  sold  for  the 
money  with  which  he  made  his  fortune,  —  for 
fifteen  dollars  per  acre,  —  would  now  bring  forty- 


8  DIARY    OF    A 

five ;  also  Christopher  Champlain's  great  farm, 
having  on  it  the  largest  barn  in  Rhode  Island,  — 
though  it  is  not  very  large  ;  and  also  the  house 
where  Mr.  Babcock  wns  born,  in  Westerly.  The 
Mystic  River  divides  Stonington  from  Groton. 

7  Afternoon,  to  New  London.  The  ferry  is  well 
attended,  and  the  passage  expeditious.  The 
Thames  is  a  fine  river  for  one  so  small ;  the 
water  is  fourteen  fathoms  deep.  In  the  late  war, 
the  frigates  blockaded  by  the  British  were  eleven 
miles  above  New  London.  We  here  took  a  small, 
handsome  coach  and  pair,  with  a  driver,  for  New 
Haven.  Our  stay  in  New  London  was  but  half  an 
hour,  as  we  saw  nothing  particularly  interesting  in 
the  place,  except  the  forts  Trumbull  and  Griswold 
on  the  opposite  shores  of  New  London  and  Groton. 

20  To  Scab  rook  [Saybrook].  The  ferry  over  the 
Connecticut  is  very  badly  attended  and  managed. 
The  river  is  about  half  a  mile  wide,  the  depth 
thirty-five  feet.  Though  the  tide  set  strongly  up, 
the  water  was  not  salt.  The  river  passes  into  the 
Sound  between  two  distinct  capes,  without  forming 
a  bay,  as  is  more  common  at  the  mouths  of  rivers. 
On  the  westerly  cape  is  a  light-house.  We  saw 
the  Connecticut  River  with  the  same  kind  of  sen- 
sations that  one  has  in  meeting  an  old  friend  in  a 
strange  place.     The  ferry  had  detained  us  an  hour, 


VISIT    TO    NEWPORT,   ETC.  9 

after  which  we  proceeded  to  Pratt's,  an  excellent  2^ 
house,  to  sleep. 

Thursday,  July  6th.  To  New  Haven.  Ten  34 
miles  short  of  New  Haven,  one  of  our  axletrees 
broke  ;  and  we  hired  a  Mr.  Rodgers  to  take  us  to 
that  city  in  a  one-horse  wagon.  Our  driver  is  a 
singular  character.  Says  he  was  left  an  orphan  at 
fourteen,  which  has  made  him  headstrong;  has  a 
great  real  estate,  horses,  &c.,  a  store  in  North  Caro- 
lina, &c.,  but  works  out  some  on  hire.  Has  been 
in  all  the  States  but  the  Eastern  and  Georgia. 
Butler's,  at  New  Haven,  is  an  excellent  house. 
Hitherto  our  tour  has  been  prosperous.  From 
Boston,  the  weather  was  warm,  but  the  wind  w^as 
ahead ;  had  but  one  fellow-passenger ;  the  wind 
and  weather  to  Newport  very  fine,  allowing  us  a 
charming  view  of  the  surrounding  country.  Saw 
Newport  in  its  best ;  found  immediately  the  man 
to  carry  us  to  New  London  ;  were  just  in  time  all 
the  way  ;  and,  even  when  our  axle  broke,  Rodgers 
rode  up  within  ten  minutes,  and  engaged  to  take 
us  to  New  Haven  to  dine,  which  he  did. 

Friday,  July  7th.  Judge  Baldwin  called  on  us, 
and  conducted  us  to  the  new  meeting-houses  and 
Gothic  church.  Saw  in  the  burying-ground  the 
graves  of  Whalley  and  Dixwell,  two  of  King 
Charles's  judges.     To  the  College  and  mineralogi- 


10  DIARY    OF   A 

cal  apartments.  Professor  Silliman  very  attentive 
and  communicative.  The  collection  of  minerals, 
fossils,  &c.,  is  very  splendid,  doubtless  the  best  in 
America  :  principally  from  Colonel  Gibbs.  In  the 
afternoon  to  the  East  Eock,  composed  of  granite  at 
the  surface  and  of  sandstone  under  that.  Saw  Mr. 
Whitney's  wonderful  gun  manufactory.*  His  ma- 
chinery, with  which  every  operation  is  performed, 
is  so  accurate  that  any  article  belonging  to  any  one 
of  his  muskets  will  equally  well  fit  any  other  of 
them.  Saw  also  his  famous  machine  for  cleaning 
cotton ;  so  useful  that  without  [it],  we  were  in- 
formed from  the  best  authority,  cotton  could  not 
be  cultivated  in  the  Southern  States.  He  first  con- 
ceived the  idea  while  private  tutor  in  the  family  of 
General  Greene  in  Georgia.! 

*  In  a  communication  to  the  "Boston  Daily  Advertiser"  of 
Feb.  16,  1880,  headed  "Our  Great  Inventors,"  is  the  following 
remark:  "It  will  thus  be  seen  that  this  system  [the  uniformity 
system]  forms  an  epoch  in  mechanic  arts,  —  the  greatest  probably 
since  the  introduction  of  steam  power,  —  and  it  becomes  important 
to  know  when^  where,  and  by  whom  did  this  system  originate."  For 
information  on  this  subject  the  reader  is  referred  to  a  very  interest- 
ing memoir  of  Eli  Whitney,  published  in  the  "  Am.  Jour,  of 
Science  and  Arts  "  for  January,  1832,  which  leaves  no  doubt  that 
he  was  the  originator  of  the  ' '  uniformity  system. ' '  His  first  contract 
under  this  system  was  made  with  the  government,  Jan.  14,  1798, 
for  ten  thousand  stand  of  arms.  He  established  his  works  at  the 
foot  of  East  Rock,  within  two  miles  of  New  Haven.  —  Ed. 

f  Mr.  Whitney's  grandfather  and  Mr.  Baldwin's  grandmother 
[were]  brother  and  sister.  Mrs.  Baldwin  was  a  Sherman,  and  her 
mother  was  a  Prescott,  of  the  Concord  family. 


VISIT    TO    NEWPORT,   ETC. 


11 


Saturday,  July  8th.  Left  New  Haven  at  six  a.m.,  75 
and  in  nine  and  a  quarter  hours  arrived  at  New 
York  in  the  steamboat  "  Fulton."  For  a  time  we 
had  thick  weather  and  rain,  but  at  length  it  cleared 
off,  and  we  had  a  fine  view  of  the  Sound  with  its 
islands,  bays,  and  neighboring  shores.  In  the  Nar- 
rows and  through  Hell  Gate,  we  made  head  almost 
directly  against  the  wind,  which  was  fresh,  passing 
every  thing  under  sail  going  the  same  way.  Our 
accommodations  were  excellent.  There  were,  per- 
haps, from  sixty  to  one  hundred  passengers :  among 
them,  Messrs.  Hillhouse,  Dagget,  and  Theodore 
Dwight ;  Mr.  Gill  and  family  moving  to  Philadel- 
phia; Mr.  McCracken,  out  of  health,  going  to 
Europe  ;  Gibbons  and  Sam  Bell !  Miss  Ealston,  of 
Philadelphia,  returning  from  a  visit  to  her  friends 
in  Middletown,  —  a  pleasant  young  lady. 

Sunday,  July  9th.  Mr.  Williams  went  with 
Mr.  Eemsen  to  Flushing  on  Long  Island.  Mr. 
Olmsby,  a  clerk  of  Mr.  Remsen,  attended  Mr. 
Bigelow  to  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  Mr.  Mat- 
thews's,  in  the  morning ;  and  to  Dr.  Romayn  s 
in  the  afternoon.  Mr.  Matthews  gave  us  a  very 
sensible  discourse ;  Dr.  Romayn  prayed  very  ably, 
but  he  had  an  assistant  who  preached. 

Monday,  July  10th.  Rode  out  on  Manhattan 
(Manhatus)  or  New  York  Island  ^ye  or  six  miles 


12  DIARY   OF    A 

north,  and  returned  by  the  East  River  road.  We 
saw  several  handsome  country-seats,  but  found  the 
country  in  general  rough,  and  not  so  well  cultivated 
as  we  expected.  Our  hackman  was  from  Port- 
land. We  are  at  the  Washington  Hotel,  kept  by 
Mclntyre.  The  bar  attendant  was  from  Boston. 
The  company  too  large,  and  composed  too  much 
of  decayed  officers  and  dissipated  young  men.  We 
saw  here,  however,  Mr.  Cunningham,  a  planter, 
seventy-two  years  old,  who  has  lived  thirty-eight 
years  in  Charleston  ;  General  Morris,  a  planter ; 
and  young  Rutledge,  who  graduated  at  Cambridge. 
Messrs.  Dagget  and  Remsen  spent  the  evening  with 
us.  This  morning,  Isaac  Gouverneur,  a  young 
gentleman  of  good  connections  and  of  property, 
died  of  the  wound  he  received  on  Saturday  last 
in  a  duel  with  one  Maxwell,  a  lawyer,  who  was  a 
boarder  in  our  house,  but  who  left  it  yesterday. 
The  quarrel  arose  on  the  evening  of  the  fourth  of 
July,  concerning  two  girls  of  ill  fame !  Both 
young  men  are  well  spoken  of,  but  it  is  said  that 
Gouverneur  was  haughty  and  obstinate.  His 
'  mother,  a  widow,  is  almost  distracted  at  his  loss. 
The  Corporation  are  incensed,  and  seem  deter- 
mined to  punish  Maxwell  and  the  seconds. 

Tuesday,   July    11th.     Ascended  to  the  cupola 
of  the  City  Hall,  a  noble  building  of  marble,  for 


VISIT    TO   NEWPORT,   ETC. 


13 


the  accommodation  of  courts,  and  city  officers. 
We  had  a  commanding  view  of  the  city  and  its 
environs.  The  extent  seems  much  greater  than 
in  traversing  the  streets.  To  Paulus  Hook  in  the  1 
steam-ferry  boat ;  the  accommodations  admirable  ; 
passed  in  ten  minutes.  Took  the  stage-coach  to  9 
Newark,  crossing  the  Hackensack,  a  marsh  five 
miles  over,  and  the  Passaic.  Both  rivers  have 
drawbridges.  Saw  a  large  number  of  people  en- 
camped on  the  marshes  in  the  manner  of  soldiers, 
who  were  employed  in  diking  the  vast  marshes 
bounding  on  the  Hackensack.  On  some  marsh 
land  on  the  Passaic,  diked  about  four  years  since, 
we  saw  the  heaviest  English  grass  we  had  seen 
this  year. 

Gifford's,  at  Newark,  is  a  good  house.  The 
town  is  pleasant,  well  laid  out,  and,  though  small, 
has  the  air  of  a  city !  Took  a  private  carriage  for  19 
Morristown.  Land  generally  hard  and  cold,  but 
pretty  well  cultivated.  A  greater  proportion  of  it 
is  in  tillage  than  in  New  England.  It  is  said  that 
their  good  crops  are  all  owing  to  plaster  or  lime. 
Some  quince-trees  here  are  of  the  size  of  apple- 
trees.  Pass  through  Springfield,  recross  the  Pas- 
saic at  Chatham.  Hayden's,  in  Morristown,  is  a 
good  house,  clean  and  commodious.  Our  stage- 
driver  is  Johnson,  from  Newbury  port. 


14  DIARY    OF   A 

14  Wednesday,  July  12th.  After  dining,  to  Black 
River,  so  called,  though  there  is  no  river  near. 
The  legal  name  of  the  town  is  Chester.  Mr.  Keen, 
grandson  of late  surveyor-general  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, travelled  with  us,  bound  to  Tyoga  Point,  &c., 
—  an  intelligent  man.  Drake's,  in  Chester,  is  a 
good  house,  but  not  yet  finished. 

44  Thursday,  July  13th.  To  Easton,  by  the  way 
of  Hacketstown,  where  is  a  mineral  spring,  at 
Schooley's  Mountain,  so  called.  The  water  is  cha- 
lybeate. We  dined  at  another  Drake's,  at  Mans- 
field. Crossed  the  Muskonetkong  and  Pohatkong 
Rivers.  Saw  the  teazle  growing  wild.  At  Easton, 
crossed  the  Delaware  into  Pennsylvania.  We  were 
not  a  little  surprised  to  find  the  river  so  small,  ap- 
parently not  larger  than  the  Concord,  the  Nashua, 
or  the  Charles  at  Watertown  below  the  bridge,  in 
Massachusetts.  Just  above  Easton,  the  river  in 
some  remote  age  has  forced  its  way  through  a 
mountain,  the  corresponding  cliffs  of  which  now 
remaining,  afford  evidence  of  the  fact,  though  the 
width  of  a  river  at  a  great  depth  below  the  con- 
tiguous precipices  is  very  small.  A  little  below 
the  village,  the  Lehigh  joins  the  Delaware:  it  has 
about  half  as  much  water.  Mount  Jefferson  has  a 
precipice  to  the  northwest  and  west  nearly  two 
hundred  feet  high  and  nearly  perpendicular.     A 


VISIT    TO    NEWPORT,    ETC.  15 


man  and  a  boy  have  lately  fallen  from  it  and  been 
destroyed. 

Easton  is  a  handsome  village,  growing,  built 
chiefly  of  stone.  White's  tavern  is  a  good  house  ; 
and  we  observed  in  the  neighboring  country  vast 
quantities  of  excellent  wheat,  rye,  barley,  flax,  &c., 
and  good  orchards,  except  that  the  peach  orchards 
appear  to  be  declining,  and  in  some  instances  have 
been  entirely  cut  down.  Mr.  Sitznams  and  Mr. 
Eoss  live  in  this  place.  We  here  parted  with  Mr. 
Keen,  who  takes  the  stage  to  Wilkesbarre,  Tyoga, 
&c. ;  showed  us  a  remarkable  fowling-piece,  made 
to  take  to  pieces  so  as  to  be  carried  in  a  small  bag. 

Friday,  July  14th.  Took  the  stage  for  Philadel- 
phia. For  the  first  fourteen  miles,  the  country 
was  very  hilly  and  rough ;  it  afterwards  subsides. 
We  had  views  during  the  whole  journey,  almost 
perpetually,  of  extensive  fields  of  wheat,  rye,  buck- 
wheat, oats,  corn,  flax,  &c.  The  wheat  especially 
was  very  abundant  and  very  fine.  The  tall  Vir- 
ginia corn  began  to  appeai;  soon  after  leaving 
Easton,  occasionally  intermixed  with  our  New 
England  kind  of  corn.  The  houses  and  barns  in 
Pennsylvania  are  chiefly  built  of  stone,  and  a  great 
part  of  the  people  through  this  day's  journey  speak 
the  German  language.  Six  out  of  nine  passengers 
in  our  stage-coach  spoke  or  understood  German. 


60 


16  DIARY    OF    A 

A  woman  passenger  was  born  at  Pfaltz  near  Mann- 
heim and  Mainz  on  the  Rhine.  After  a  fatiguing 
journey  in  a  sultry  day,  we  arrived  in  the  evening 
at  the  Mansion  House,  so  called,  a  good  house 
kept  by  Renshaw. 

Saturday,  July  15th.  Mr.  Meredith  attended 
us  to  the  library,  and  then  politely  sent  his  son  to 
show  us  Peale's  Museum,  the  Hospital,  &;c.  We 
were  gratified  to  observe  on  a  pedestal  in  front  of 
the  Hospital  a  fine  bronze  statue  of  William  Penn. 
Of  Dr.  Franklin,  the  busts,  pictures,  and  prints 
were  everywhere  to  be  seen.  We  this  morning 
visited  the  seventy-four  gun-ship  "  Franklin  "  on  the 
stocks,  attended  by  Lieutenant  Morgan.  She  is  a 
well-built  ship,  has  less  timber  and  more  breadth  of 
beam  than  the  "  Independence,"  and  is  expected  to 
carry  her  lower  ports  from  four  to  five  feet  above 
the  water.  Afternoon,  crossed  the  Schuylkill  by 
the  middle  bridge,  and  rode  up  to  the  Falls,  where 
we  saw  several  manufactories,  &c. ;  took  tea  at  one 
of  the  houses  of  resort  for  Philadelphians  at  the 
Falls  on  the  east  side,  and  returned  by  the  turn- 
pike to  the  city. 

We  this  morning  saw  Colonel  Perkins,  of  Bos- 
ton, who  put  in  requisition  his  friends  Meredith 
and  Vaughan  to  take  care  of  us,  and  went  [left] 
himself  for  Boston.     This  evening  found  at  our 


VISIT    TO   NEWPORT,   ETC.  17 

house  Generals  Gushing  and  Boyd,  Judge  Brack- 
enridge,  &c.,  &c. 

Sunday,  July  16th.  Attended  the  Unitarian 
meeting  with  Mr.  Vaughan  in  the  morning.  Mr.  Ed- 
does,  a  layman,  preached  very  well.  Dined  at  Mr. 
Vaughan's,  where  we  met  Messrs.  Huger  and  Frost 
of  South  Carolina,  Dunbar  of  the  Natchez,  who 
are  all  attending  the  medical  lectures,  and  Horatio 
Bigelow,  who  has  opened  a  broker's  office  here. 
In  the  afternoon,  attended  the  German  Lutheran 
Church,  and  heard  Mr.  Myers.  He  preached  a 
very  good  sermon,  perhaps  too  liberal.  The  con- 
gregation and  service  were  neat,  orderly,  and 
proper.  After  service,  crossed  the  Schuylkill,  and 
rode  to  Judge  Peters's  with  Mr.  Vaughan.  The 
Judge  calls  himself  seventy-two  years  old ;  appears 
to  be  in  a  green  old  age,  but  is  said  to  be  a  little 
dull  of  late,  because  his  youngest  and  last  daugh- 
ter is  about  to  be  married.  We  delivered  him  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Pickering.  He  expressed  his  affec- 
tionate regards  for  Mr.  P in  a  very  feeling 

manner.  Judge  Peters's  house  commands  a  view 
of  a  part  of  the  Schuylkill  and  of  the  city.  We 
saw  in  his  grounds  the  Bignonia  radicans^  which 
will  run  one  hundred  feet.  It  grows  wild  in  Vir- 
ginia, and  has  a  beautiful  red  flower,  of  which  the 
humming-birds  are  very  fond.     Saw  also  a  large 

3 


18  DIARY    OF    A 

pecan-nut-tree ;  it  somewhat  resembles  the  black- 
walnut-tree,  but  has  never  borne  fruit.  The  black- 
walnut  and  tulip  trees  grow  here  very  common, 
from  two  to  three  feet  [and]  over.  The  Judge 
showed  a  well-grown  Spanish  chestnut-tree,  of 
which  he  related  the  following  anecdote.  General 
Washington,  being  at  his  house,  said  to  him,  ''  I 
have  three  Spanish  chestnuts  in  my  pocket.  You 
shall  have  one,  if  you  will  plant  it."  Judge  Peters 
replied,  '^  I  will  dig  the  hole,  if  you  will  put  the 
nut  ill  it."  It  was  done  accordingly.  The  Judge 
has  a  boxwood-tree  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  high. 
He  says  that  foreigners  as  well  as  others  say  it  is 
the  tallest  they  ever  saw. 

The  city  of  Philadelphia  is  supplied  with  water 
principally  from  the  Schuylkill,  the  water  from 
which  is  raised  by  steam  to  the  amount  of  five 
hundred  thousand  gallons  per  day.  It  is  first 
received  by  a  cistern  near  the  banks  of  the  Schuyl- 
kill, containing  fifteen  hundred  thousand  gallons, 
from  whence  it  is  distributed  to  the  city  through 
pipes  made  of  white  oak,  not  inserted  into  each 
other,  but  the  junction  is  by  iron  terminations  of 
six  inches  long  in  each  log.  Judge  Peters  spoke 
of  Governor  Strong  with  great  respect.  We  had 
the  best  view  of  Philadelphia  from  the  deck  of  the 
"Franklin."     There  is  no  considerable   elevation 


VISIT  TO    NEWPORT,   ETC.  19 

of  ground  in  the  city,  and  but  two  steeples  !  There 
are  also  two  shot-towers,  one  square  and  one  circu- 
lar, which,  except  one  of  the  steeples,  are  the  most 
striking  objects  in  a  general  view  of  the  city.  The 
greatness  of  the  city  is  most  effectually  perceived 
by  the  perpetual  recurrence  of  long,  well-built,  and 
fully  peopled  streets,  very  much  resembling  each 
other.  The  inhabitants  estimate  their  population, 
including  the  Liberties,  &c.,  at  one  hundred  and 
thirty  thousand.  New  York  numbers  one  hundred 
thousand. 

Monday,  July  17th.  Took  the  steamboat  for  30 
Trenton  at  quarter  past  seven,  a.m.  Our  accom- 
modations on  board  were  very  good.  Stopped  to 
land  and  receive  passengers  at  Burlington,  Bristol, 
and  Bordentown  on  our  passage.  At  Trenton, 
passed  the  brook  [Assanpink],  made  memorable 
as  the  barrier  which  saved  General  Washington 
and  his  little  army  from  destruction  by  Cornwallis 
the  night  before  Washington's  victory  at  Princeton. 

At  Trenton,  took  a  stage-coach  for  Brunswick.  28 
Passed  through  Princeton.  The  college  is  large, 
of  stone ;  has  three  cross-entries.  It  is  said  that 
the  institution  is  not  as  respectable  as  under  the 
former  president.  We  saw  also  a  new  large  brick 
building  at  Brunswick  which  we  were  told  was  a 
college.     We  found  the   road  this  day  execrable, 


20  DIARY   OF   A 

thougli  a  turnpike,  —  although  the  country  is  level 
most  of  the  way.  Such  a  road  would  not  be  toler- 
ated in  New  England.  We  found  Brunswick  a 
more  considerable  place  than  we  expected.  The 
E-aritan  is  navigable  three  or  four  miles  above  the 
town.  There  is  a  handsome  toll-bridge  over  it, 
raised  on  nine  arches.  Our  accommodations  at 
Degraw's  were  decent.  Our  stage-driver  from 
Trenton  was  a  Meriam  from  Mason,  New  Hamp- 
shire. 

Tuesday,  July  18th.  Embarked  on  board  the 
steamboat  about  a  mile  below  the  bridge,  there  not 
being  depth  of  water  sufficient  to  allow  a  nearer 
approach  to  Brunswick.  We  found  the  water  of 
the  Raritan  the  dirtiest  we  ever  saw,  fouled  with  a 
reddish  clay,  the  prevailing  soil  of  the  contiguous 
country.  The  river  winds  very  much  in  extensive 
marshes.  To  the  right  we  pass  the  mouths  of 
Lawrence's  Creek  and  South  E,iver  ;  on  the  left,  at 
the  headland  [?]  stands  Willetstown,  commonly 
called  Washington.  Passing  out  into  Raritan  Bay, 
the  water  becomes  clear ;  but  we  soon  bend  off  to 
the  left  into  Staten  Island  Sound,  and  pass  several 
miles  between  that  island  and  the  Jersey  shore. 
See  the  mouths  of  Rahway  River  and  Elizabeth- 
town  Creek  to  the  left,  and  open  into  Newark 
Bay  at  its  south-western  corner.     This  bay  extends 


VISIT    TO   NEWPORT,    ETC.  21 

from  Staten  Island  to  the  mouths  of  the  Hacken- 
sack  and  Passaic,  say  from  six  to  ten  miles.  We 
coast  the  Staten  Island  shore,  and  enter  the 
"  Kills  "  so  called,  a  narrow  Bosphorus  opening 
into  New  York  Bay ;  passing  into  which,  we  have 
to  the  right  a  view  of  Sandy  Hook  and  the  ocean, 
and  to  the  left,  to  which  we  now  turn,  of  New 
York  and  the  neighboring  islands,  fortifications, 
&c.^  We  arrived  in  New  York  at  one  o'clock,  hav- 
ing made  our  passage  from  Brunswick  in  seven  40 
hours,  though  some  of  the  time  against  wind  and 
tide.  At  Mrs.  Marselens's,  Mechanics'  Hall,  a 
better  house  than  Washington  Hall,  but  the  ser- 
vants are  not  good.  Saw  here  Mr.  Hare,  of  Phila- 
delphia, —  whom  we  had  seen  at  New  Haven,  — 
Mr.  Wiggin,  &c.  Counted  twelve  hundred  and 
thirty-six  widows  in  the  New  York  Directory. 

Wednesday,  July  19th.  With  Mr.  Remsen 
crossed  the  East  River  to  Brooklyn,  on  Long 
Island,  a  handsome  village  with  paved  streets. 
Took  a  hackney-coach  to  Flatbush,  Gravesend  Bay 
(memorable  for  Washington's  defeat,  August  26th, 
1776),  where  the  British  troops  landed,  and  to 
Bath  in  New  Utrecht,  to  breakfast.  We  returned 
by  the  seashore,  commanding  a  noble  view  of  New 

1  Staten  Island  is  Richmond  County.  Long  Island  has  King's, 
Queen's,  and  Suffolk. 


22  DIARY    OF    A 

York  Bay,  Navesink,  beyond  Sandy  Hook,  the  Nar- 
rows, Staten  Island,  New  York  and  Jersey  shore, 
through  immense  plantations  of  melons,  squashes, 
cucumbers,  raspberries,  &c.,  &c.,  over  the  mill-dam 
to  Brooklyn  again.  Apricots,  cherries,  and  other 
fruit-trees  grow  on  the  cliffs  down  almost  to  the 
w^ater's  edge.     Reached  New  York  at  twelve. 

Thursday,  July  20th.  At  eight  o'clock,  a.m., 
embarked  on  board  the  steamboat  "  Firefly,"  with 
about  fifty  passengers.  Mr.  E-emsen  came  on  board 
to  find  us  acquaintance,  and  introduced  us  to  Mr. 
Lydig,  a  very  intelligent  and  gentlemanly  man. 
Found  also  on  board  Mr.  Potter,  a  respectable 
planter  of  South  Carolina,  and  his  family,  —  he  was 
much  delighted  with  the  beauties  of  the  Hudson,  — 
Mrs.  Phillips  and  her  daughter ;  Mr.  Law  and 
daughter,  of  Philadelphia ;  Messrs.  Howards,  of 
Baltimore ;  and  Mr.  Street,  a  lawyer  of  Pough- 
keepsie.  The  river  for  many  miles  from  New 
York  is  between  one  and  two  miles  wide.  Passed 
Hamilton's  monument,  a  white  marble  obelisk, 
erected  on  the  spot  where  he  fell.  Fort  Washing- 
ton is  on  Manhattan  Island.  Fort  Lee  is  nearly 
opposite  on  the  Jersey  shore.  Spuyten  Duyvel 
Creek  is  the  water  which  divides  Manhattan  Island 
from  the  mainland  of  Westchester.  Tappan  Sea 
is  an  enlargement  of  the  river  to  perhaps  four  miles 


VISIT   TO    NEWPORT,    ETC.  23 

wide  for  twelve  or  fourteen  miles  in  length.  On 
the  east  is  Tarry  town,  where  Andre  was  taken.  A 
large  tulip-tree  under  which  he  was  when  taken,  it 
is  said,  was  shivered  to  pieces  by  lightning  the  day 
on  which  Arnold  died.  Andre's  grave  is  in  an 
open  field  in  Tappan,  with  nothing  to  mark  it  but  a 
small  tree  near  it,  about  two  miles  west  of  the  river. 
Pass  the  mouth  of  Croton  Bay,  by  which  the 
river  of  that  name  communicates  with  the  Hud- 
son, and  then  Teller's  Point,  which  divides  Tappan 
Sea  from  Haverstraw  Bay,  which  is  another  en- 
largement of  the  river,  about  as  wide  but  quite  as 
long  as  Tappan  Sea.  Before  we  came  to  Tappan 
Sea,  we  passed  a  continued  high  cliff  to  the  left, 
which,  after  an  interruption  of  about  twelve  miles, 
was  resumed,  —  from  four  hundred  to  six  hundred 
feet  high, —  composed  chiefly  of  perpendicular  stone 
near  the  top,  said  by  some  to  be  basaltic,  though 
this  is  doubted  by  others,  who  think  it  granite. 
Sandstone  is  found  under  this.  Pass  between  Stony 
and  Yerplanck  Points,  made  memorable  in  the 
Revolutionary  War,  and  enter  that  tract  of  country 
called  the  Highlands.  The  mountains  here  are 
from  one  thousand  to  twelve  hundred  feet  high, 
and  rise  directly  from  the  water.  St.  Anthony's 
Nose  is  a  promontory  on  the  right,  having  a  fancied 
resemblance   in   shape   to   the  human   nose.      At 


24  DIARY    OF   A 

Breakneck  Hill  also,  where  the  Highlands  end,  is  a 
striking  conformation  of  rock,  resembling  a  human 
profile.  We  here  open  into  Newburgh  Bay,  where 
the  river  becomes  wider  and  the  contiguous  country 
subsides.  To  the  south-west  is  to  be  seen,  at  the 
distance  of  twenty  or  thirty  miles,  Skunnemunk 
Mountains.  Between  those  and  Butter  Hill,  which 
<  makes  the  northern  extremity  of  the  Highlands  on 
the  western,  as  Breakneck  Hill  does  on  the  eastern, 
side  of  the  river,  is  a  valley  running  almost  the 
whole  way  from  the  Hudson  to  Newark  Bay,  from 
which  the  water  actually  flows  both  ways ;  that  is, 
north-east  to  the  Hudson,  and,  with  a  small  interval 
between,  south-west  to  Newark  Bay  by  the  Passaic, 
through  which  valley  it  is  thought  that  the  Hudson 
at  some  remote  period  made  its  way  to  the  ocean, 
but  by  what  convulsion  of  nature  it  afterwards 
forced  its  way  through  the  Highlands,  which  are 
generally  much  more  elevated  ground,  cannot  be 
known. 

We  parted  with  Lydig  at  his  famous  waterworks 
at  Buttermilk  Falls.  The  water  there  falls  a  great 
distance  down  the  side  of  almost  perpendicular 
rock  directly  into  the  river.  He  told  us  that  Gantz- 
hook  is  Goose  Point ;  Kinderhook,  Children's  Point ; 
Manhatten,  Manhatus  ;  Spuyten  Duyvel,  in  spite  of 
the   Devil,  because   a   Dutchman   said   he   would 


VISIT    TO    NEWPORT,    ETC.  25 

[swim  ?]  across  there  in  spite  of  the  Devil,  but  was 
drowned.  Pass  Windsor  and  Newburgh  to  the  left, 
and  Fishkill  Landing  to  the  right.  The  town  of 
Fishkill  is  five  miles  from  the  river,  but  the  Land- 
ing is  a  pleasant  place,  and  said  to  contain  very 
pleasant  society.  We  dined  and  took  tea  on  deck 
under  an  awning.  The  full  moon  rising  in  the 
evening  over  the  mountains,  scattering  her  beams 
on  the  water,  and  rendering  visible  the  surrounding 
majestic  scenery,  produced  a  romantic  eff'ect.  This 
was  particularly  observable  in  Miss  Phillips,  who 
was  so  enchanted  as  to  wish  to  continue  on  board 
all  night.  At  about  ten  o'clock,  we  reached  Pough-  80 
keepsie.  We  found  it  well  laid  out  and  built,  — 
the  principal  streets  paved,  —  containing  a  popula- 
tion of  thirty-five  hundred.  At  Forbes's  Tavern,  a 
good  house,  found  Mr.  Ed.  Tilghman,  of  Philadel- 
phia, with  his  wife  and  daughter,  and  Mrs.  Hare 
and  a  son  (Powell)  and  daughter,  on  their  way  to 
the  Springs,  but  waiting  for  their  carriage,  which 
was  on  the  way  up  the  river  in  a  packet  boat,  and 
was  [would  be]  four  or  five  days  in  reaching 
Poughkeepsie. 

Friday,  July  21st.  Spent  this  day,  which  was 
very  sultry,  in  Poughkeepsie,  as  did  Messrs.  Tilgh- 
man, Potter,  and  Law,  with  their  families,  Mrs. 
and   Miss   Phillips,  Mrs.  Hare  and  children,  &c. 


26  DIARY    OF    A 

Mrs.  Tilghman,  Mrs.  Howard  (wife  of  the  hero  of 
that  name,  and  [of  the]  father  of  our  fellow-trav- 
ellers), and  Mrs.  Phillips,  were  sisters,  daughters 
of  Benjamin  Chew,  late  chief-justice  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

Saturday,  July  2 2d.  At  four  o'clock  a.m.,  em- 
barked on  board  the  steamboat  "  Car  of  Neptune." 
Found  on  board  near  one  hundred  passengers.  We 
thought  this  boat  as  td  accommodations,  machinery, 
and  velocity,  inferior  to  any  we  had  been  in,  yet 
we  made  way  at  the  rate  of  seven  or  eight  miles 
per  hour.  At  Esopus,  so  called,  which  is  Kingston 
on  the  west  shore  (which  was  burnt  by  the  British 
troops  in  the  Kevolutionary  War),  took  in  a  Mr. 
Huych,  of  Dutch  descent,  who  told  us  that  he  once 
owned  all  the  land  which  now  makes  the  city  of 
Hudson.  It  was  then  a  part  of  Claverack,  or  Clo- 
verleaf,  so  called  from  a  fancied  resemblance  of  the 
cliffs  on  the  shore  to  a  leaf  of  clover.  Dutchess 
County  to  our  right  is  now  considered  very  pro- 
ductive both  in  grain  and  grass,  a  quality  entirely 
owing  to  the  use  of  plaster,  for  before  that  it  was 
uncommonly  [sterile].  On  the  eastern  shore,  for 
a  great  length  of  way,  we  pass  many  elegant  gen- 
tlemen's seats,  most  of  which  belong  to  the  Liv- 
ingston family.  One  in  particular  belonged  to 
General  Montgomery,    whose    widow,  a   sister  of 


VISIT  TO   NEWPORT,   ETC.  27 

Chancellor  Livingston,  still  resides  there.  Hudson 
is  a  city  ;  stands  on  a  point  which  makes  from  the 
eastern  shore,  at  the  head  of  ship  navigation,  and 
contains  five  thousand  inhahitants,  but  is  said  to  be 
rather  on  the  decline.  Opposite  to  it  is  Athens,  — 
a  small,  pleasant  village.  As  we  approach  Albany, 
the  river  becomes  shoaler,  and  is  obstructed  by 
islands.  The  OverslaitgJi,  so  called,  is  a  bar  across 
the  river  about  a  mile  below  Albany,  where  vessels 
often  get  aground.  We  had  landed  and  received 
passengers  at  most  of  the  considerable  places  on  the 
river,  and  reached  Albany  at  half-past  four  p.m.  83 
Took  lodgings  at  Caldwell's  with  Messrs.  Eeed  and 
Lane  from  Boston,  who  had  been  fellow-travellers 
for  several  days.  Took  leave  of  Mrs.  Phillips  and 
daughter  at  the  hotel.  They  leave  town  for  Sara- 
toga to-morrow.  Albany  has  doubled  its  size  since 
we  saw  it  in  1805. 

Sunday,  July  23d.  Took  a  Dutch  wagon  for 
Lebanon.  Dined  at  New  Store  village,  at  the 
house  of  our  old  acquaintance,  Jonathan  Hoag, 
who  died  three  years  since.  The  house  is  now 
kept  by  his  son,  and  is  decent.  To  Hull's,  at  Leba-  28 
non  Springs.  Found  Mr.  .Smith,  the  famous  trav- 
eller, from  Carolina,  with  his  family ;  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  Democratic  Attorney-General  of  New  York, 
and  some  others. 


28  DIARY   OF   A 

Monday,  July  24th.  The  ordinary  temperature 
of  the  water  in  the  baths  is  about  72°,  but  we 
found  it  expedient  to  add  hot  water,  so  as  to  raise 
it  nearly  to  the  temperature  of  the  atmosphere. 
We  very  readily  perceived  the  peculiar  effect  of 
the  water  is  [in]  softening  and  smoothing  the  skin. 
Judge  Benson  dined  with  us,  and  waited  over- 
night in  expectation  of  seeing  Mr.  Tilghman. 
4  Tuesday,  July  25th.  Rode  to  the  Shakers'  vil- 
lage. Their  number  in  Lebanon  is  five  hundred ; 
in  Hancock  three  hundred.  Morril  Baker  and 
Daniel  Hawkins  are  the  deacons  or  "me/i  of  care'' 
in  Lebanon.  In  their  dairy,  kitchen,  workshops, 
&c.,  they  are  very  neat  and  ingenious.  On  our 
return,  we  found  Mr.  Tilghman  and  family,  and  soon 
after  Mr.  Levi  and  Dr.  Earl,  at  our  house.  Dr. 
Morse  and  wife  called  on  their  way  from  Charles- 
town  to  Utica.  Several  of  the  domestics  at  Hull's 
had  lived  in  gentlemen's  families  in  Boston.  Daniel 
Taylor  from  Dracut,  in  particular,  made  himself 
quite  useful  to  us.  ^ 

Wednesday,  July  26th.  Having  presented  Mrs. 
Dwight  of  Stockbridge  with  Hannah  More's  trea- 
tise on  the  character  ai^d  w^ri tings  of  St.  Paul,  we 
47  took  the  stage  for  Northampton.  Ascending  the 
mountains  we  had  a  noble  view  of  the  country 
behind  us,  covered  with  wheat,  &c.,  to  the  very 


VISIT   TO    NEWPORT,    ETC.  29 

summits  of  the  hills.  Descending  towards  Pitts- 
field,  we  have  also  a  fine  view  to  the  eastward,  of 
a  very  large  part  of  the  county  of  Berkshire,  which, 
though  a  hilly  country,  is  yet  of  a  milder  and  less 
rugged  aspect  than  the  country  we  had  left.  A 
still  greater  diff'erence  is  observable  in  the  manners 
of  the  people.  An  interesting  young  man,  out  of 
health,  returning  from  Ohio,  travelled  with  us ; 
appears  to  have  been  educated  at  Cambridge. 
(What  is  his  name  ?)  Dined  at  Pierce's,  in  Wor-  " 
thington,  a  good  house.  Slept  at  Chapman's  at 
Northampton,  also  a  good  house. 

Thursday,  July  27th.    Took  a  phaeton  to  Brook-  36 
field. 

Friday,  July  28th.     The  stage  to  Boston.  65 


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